11th May 1997

'Benazir my friend'

A Sri Lankan schoolmate of Benazir Bhutto recalls her memories of the former Pakistani Premier to Bandula Jayasekara
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will turn 44 on May 12, 1997, and schoolmate Sri Lankan Vijayalakshmi Selvaratnam still remembers the former Pakistani Premier whom she knew as 'Pinky'. Vijayalakshmi went to Pakistan when she was a child and returned to Sri Lanka at 26. Her grandfather and father were famous race horse trainers in Pakistan which boasts of some of the finest stud farms in the world. Forty four year old Vijayalakshmi who politely refused to be photographed is married and has two lovely children.

"Pakistan was an American military base during our school days. Ali Bhutto was Foreign Minister. Bhutto, a Sindhi, was a feudal landlord and one of the wealthiest in Pakistan who wore only Saville Row suits," Vijayalakshmi said. "He was a mystery, a very cultured man, a fine thinker and a marvellous orator. People said that he could be very vindictive but we never saw that side of him. He was a very loving father and Benazir was the apple of his eye. He groomed her from the beginning. He even brought Benazir with him to Sri Lanka on a state visit. Benazir's mother is a Persian and it is true that she has problems with her mother as it is normal for mothers and daughters to have problems," Vijayalakshmi added.

"I remember Bhutto coming to pick his children, Benazir, Murtaza, Sanam and Sonawaz from school in his bronze Chevrolet. We went to an exclusive school the Convent of Jesus and Mary. In senior school we went to the Marie Branch of the Convent up in the Hills in Clifton, Karachchi. The Convent gave us the freedom to follow our religion and we studied Urdu as the second language and French as the Foreign language.

"I first met Benazir after she returned from Switzerland when she wore a mini skirt and Roman sandals. She was not athletic, but a good student who took part in many activities like debating. She had a personality full of energy but I don't remember Benazir having any boy friends in school. However, she loved parties and lots of fun," Vijayalakshmi recalled.

"Benazir once wore her father's campaign badge on the lapel of her blazer and refused to remove it and argued with the Principal. She was a fighter by nature. But we never see this side of her now, she covers her head. I am sure in her heart she is a true Muslim but she enjoyed and loved the foreign way of life.

"Her brother Murtaza was very overpowering in school and went around with his school friends carrying pocket knives. Benazir and Murtaza were close in school. The brothers and sisters got on very well. Sister Sanam was very quiet and Sonawaz was so good looking that all the girls used to admire him in school. The four children knew very well that they were Bhutto's and were fiercely proud of it."

Vijayalakshmi met Benazir last in 1979 at the Mid East Medical Centre where she worked as the Public Relations Manager. Benazir came there for a sinus operation and Vijayalakshmi had to attend to her admission formalities. "Benazir is a very loving mother to her three children and I am proud of her as it is not easy for a woman to become the head of state in a country like Pakistan."

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